The result of which, as I understand it, is that Babylon 5 creator Joe Michael Straczynski, the writer of Superman Earth One and both the Superman and Wonder Woman monthly books has decided that this is the future. And will conclude writing monthly titles for DC in favour of going the original graphic novel route for his future work for the company.

Memories, as science is only now theorizing and as Brainiac has known for years, are not electrical in nature. They are, in fact, actual chemical deposits in the brain. And what is chemical can easily be turned to poison.

The poison memory can’t be removed. It can conceivably be masked–Superman has more than one magical ally who could erase Lois’s conscious memory of his identity, who could facilitate a reality in which Clark and Lois were married without Lois being aware of her husband’s double life–but deep down, Superman knows that’s too risky. He can’t live with her, can’t be her husband, can’t share her life. She’s too sharp. No matter what he does, no matter how on guard he is, she’ll stumble onto his secret eventually, and when she does, it will be the death of her.

With no other conceivable option, Superman turns to Mxyzptlk. Sure, says Mxy, I can fix this–

–but only by altering history so that she NEVER knew. So that there was never a memory TO poison.

Unacceptable, says Superman. You have the power to fix this more simply. You don’t have to go that far.

Untrue, counters Mxyzptlk. Despite what I may or may not WANT to do for you…when I’m in the third dimension, I’m INCAPABLE of doing anything BUT mischief.

So the offer’s on the table, the clock is ticking on Lois, and together, she and her husband make their tragic decision. Though Lois would rather spend one day with Clark’s love than a lifetime without it, he swears to her that they’ll be together again when the time is right. For now…they have no choice but to erase their lives together so that Lois might live.

Mxyzptlk weaves his spell. As night falls around the globe, people will begin to fall asleep–and as they do, the world will change and Clark’s secret will be restored. People will awaken without any memory that Clark Kent and Lois Lane were ever married, were ever together. Clark and Lois have until sundown to enjoy one last, perfect day.

And so long as we live, we will never again see two people so much in love as we do that day.

Eventually, however, the violet dust of twilight settles across the city. It’s happening. Their arms wrapped around one another as if they’ll never touch this way again, Lois and Clark begin to fall asleep. With a last kiss, they drift into slumber…

…and when dawn breaks across Metropolis, Clark Kent exits his bachelor apartment at 344 Clinton Avenue and makes it to his Daily Planet desk just in time to catch the latest in a long line of caustic barbs from rival reporter Lois Lane. She has her sights set on Superman, thinks Kent for the millionth time. If only I could get her to love me as Clark…

Memories, as science is only now theorizing and as Brainiac has known for years, are not electrical in nature. They are, in fact, actual chemical deposits in the brain. And what is chemical can easily be turned to poison.

The poison memory can’t be removed. It can conceivably be masked–Superman has more than one magical ally who could erase Lois’s conscious memory of his identity, who could facilitate a reality in which Clark and Lois were married without Lois being aware of her husband’s double life–but deep down, Superman knows that’s too risky. He can’t live with her, can’t be her husband, can’t share her life. She’s too sharp. No matter what he does, no matter how on guard he is, she’ll stumble onto his secret eventually, and when she does, it will be the death of her.

With no other conceivable option, Superman turns to Mxyzptlk. Sure, says Mxy, I can fix this–

–but only by altering history so that she NEVER knew. So that there was never a memory TO poison.

Unacceptable, says Superman. You have the power to fix this more simply. You don’t have to go that far.

Untrue, counters Mxyzptlk. Despite what I may or may not WANT to do for you…when I’m in the third dimension, I’m INCAPABLE of doing anything BUT mischief.

So the offer’s on the table, the clock is ticking on Lois, and together, she and her husband make their tragic decision. Though Lois would rather spend one day with Clark’s love than a lifetime without it, he swears to her that they’ll be together again when the time is right. For now…they have no choice but to erase their lives together so that Lois might live.

Mxyzptlk weaves his spell. As night falls around the globe, people will begin to fall asleep–and as they do, the world will change and Clark’s secret will be restored. People will awaken without any memory that Clark Kent and Lois Lane were ever married, were ever together. Clark and Lois have until sundown to enjoy one last, perfect day.

And so long as we live, we will never again see two people so much in love as we do that day.

Eventually, however, the violet dust of twilight settles across the city. It’s happening. Their arms wrapped around one another as if they’ll never touch this way again, Lois and Clark begin to fall asleep. With a last kiss, they drift into slumber…

…and when dawn breaks across Metropolis, Clark Kent exits his bachelor apartment at 344 Clinton Avenue and makes it to his Daily Planet desk just in time to catch the latest in a long line of caustic barbs from rival reporter Lois Lane. She has her sights set on Superman, thinks Kent for the millionth time. If only I could get her to love me as Clark…

I dunno. That proposal looks really lame to me. To have a plot point turn on the premise that Myx must only do mischief is ridiculous. "Mischief" is a very loose term, and its definition depends greatly on who you are and where you're observing the mischief from.

minstrel wrote:I dunno. That proposal looks really lame to me. To have a plot point turn on the premise that Myx must only do mischief is ridiculous. "Mischief" is a very loose term, and its definition depends greatly on who you are and where you're observing the mischief from.

I am assuming you only read the portion quoted here? The prposal itself is around 7-10 pages long and is pretty fantastic. What is quoted here is just one story, which would follow a long build up of kick assery. And since we are talking about a fifth dimensional being with a bowler hat and suspenders, I don't think this plot point suddenly thrusts us into lame territory.

The thing I find most interesting about the proposal is the way they paint the Clark/Superman dynamic. With their proposed changes, I think it really makes Superman different and a lot of what is in this proposal manifested itself in a small way in All Star Superman (considered widely to be one of the best Superman stories ever told). To have seen that done by Morrison and Waid and co. in an in-continuity Superman series would have been amazing.

It is also interesting to note that these four writers proposed a 52-like collaboration years before 52. They would each handle characters or subplots and wouldn't just rotate issues. Very cool.

Finally, the marriage story would have been interesting to see if only because these creators wanted to do it. They had major plans building up to that point and this would have been a pay off. An interesting experiment to see how the audience responds. I think it would have been just as controversial as OMD, however, it would have one thing going for it that OMD did not: the creators involved wanted this to happen. JMS was forced into OMD. It was an editorial edict and not a creative team decision. It may not seem like a big distinction, but I think it is. When the guy writing the thing takes his name off of it and publicly trashes it, it gives the fanboys ammunition. But to have these four writers and editorial all holding the line and making the case for this change...well that would have been something different. It wouldn't have made it any less controversial, but I think the tone of the debate would have been different.

Superman returns to ACTION COMICS just in time for the title's historic 900th issue, which clocks in at 100 pages! Everything Paul Cornell and Pete Woods have been building to over the last year culminates here in the ultimate Superman vs. Lex Luthor battle! But that's not all - this story will lay the grounds for an insanely epic story coming out this summer in the pages of ACTION!

Plus, an incredible roster of guest talent help us celebrate this landmark issue, including the screenwriter of The Dark Knight, David Goyer; famed Superman: The Movie director Richard Donner; the co-creator of Lost, Damon Lindelof; and the creative team behind the hit DC UNIVERSE ONLINE game!

Austin Trunick wrote:There are few better ways to start a workday than by posting a killer Action Comics cover. This one comes from the incredibly talented Kenneth Rocafort, whose issue #901 cover we showed off here a while back, and will be joining Paul Cornell to handle art duties on the series starting in ACTION COMICS #900.

john siuntres wrote:Marty Pasko joins us as he returns to Metropolis writing the 70’s DC Retroactive issue of Superman, drawn by Eduardo Barretto . We talk about the still amazing world of Superman. We ‘ll discuss the career of the late Jackie Cooper who played Perry White in the first 4 modern Superman films . Despite a good working relationship with Cooper on Simon & Simon in the 80’s Pasko confesses he wasn’t crazy about the casting of Cooper as Perry. Marty also describes the editorial philosophy of Julie Schwartz, and goes into interesting detail about how DC’s Silver and Bronze age books were written .

You’ll get insights into the cast of the 50’s Adventures Of Superman, Superman regulars like Mike Carlin, and Cary Bates We also discuss the way DC and Warner Bros interacted in the 90’s , because Marty had the job as liason between the divisions of Warner Film TV and animation with DC.

Written by TOM DEFALCOArt by RON FRENZ and SAL BUSCEMACover by DUSTIN NGUYEN1:10 Variant cover by RON FRENZ and SAL BUSCEMA

From the hit comic series BATMAN BEYOND comes the adventures of The Man of Tomorrow in the DC Universe of the future.As Superman feels his super-powers beginning to decline, The Last Son of Krypton is called back into action to stop a villain more powerful than any he’s faced before. This looks like a job for Superman Beyond!Retailers please note: This issue will ship with two covers. Please see the Previews Order Form for more information.ONE-SHOT • On sale AUGUST 24 • 40 pg, FC $3.99 US • RATED T

Mark Seifert wrote:George Perez has just released an update regarding his involvement in Superman: The Man Of Tomorrow via his facebook page.

Since I’m not going to be doing any interviews regarding the SUPERMAN reboot (not wishing to inadvertently spill any plot beans) I just want to give you all the skinny on what exactly I’m doing on the book. As was recently revealed is that I will be writing the new series SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF TOMORROW. What wasn’t explained is that I’m also doing the thumbnail layouts for the book, something I did for artist Kerry Gammill years ago when I worked on ACTION COMICS. This way, I’d be providing my storytelling style, body language and suggestions for facial expression, but the final look of the book and characters will be handled by Jesus Merino, and from what I’ve seen of his work so far, we’re going to work quite well together. I was asked to draw the covers, so I will get some experience drawing this new Son of Krypton. I hope you like what you see and read when it debuts in September. And that’s all I have to say about that. Ask me no questions and I’ll tell you no lies.

Have these guys decided that red briefs are g@y? Is this some kind of homophobia?

They have been talking about this for at least a decade, claiming the circus strong man look was old-fashioned and clunky. In the meantime, they got rid of Batman's trunks, then put them back, then took them away again, but they were too frightened to break with tradition in the case of Superman. Without trunks, though, he has no reason to wear a belt. What's he keeping in there, breath mints and his Clark Kent glasses?

"If we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all." -- Noam Chomsky

Josie Campbell, wrote:Scott Lobdell must be listening to a lot of Who records these days. As evidenced by his current DC Comics workload, he obviously feels the kids are alright. Most fans are aware that DC will undergo an ambitious company-wide relaunch this September, renumbering all of their ongoing comic books and resurrecting multiple defunct titles, promising to publish 52 monthly comics in all. Recruiting a legion of creators, writers and artists to accomplish this Herculean task, DC tapped ex-Marvel Comics scribe Lobdell to pen not one, not two, but three books centered on the DC universe's younger members: "Superboy," "Teen Titans" and the ex-Titans threesome "Red Hood and The Outlaws."

Best known for his work on Marvel's "Uncanny X-Men" in the '90s, Lobdell teams with another '90s superstar, artist Brett Booth of Wildstorm fame, as well as artist/inker Norm Rapmund to bring readers the new "Teen Titans." Following what Lobdell calls the "Core Four" -- Wonder Girl, Superboy, Kid Flash and Red Robin -- the Titans team also includes three brand-new characters, as yet still unnamed. Joining artists R.B. Silva and Rob Lean, Lobdell then spins off Titans member Kon-El into his own monthly comic book series in "Superboy," a title that explores his lab-manufactured roots and asks the question, "Can a clone develop a conscience?"

Lobdell spoke to Comic Book Resources about "Teen Titans" and "Superboy," and while he couldn't get into plot specifics, the writer gladly expounded on the differences between the pre- and post-September teens, his view on decompressed storytelling and his goals for both the series and the comic book industry in general.

RT @headgeek666 So this new binary star with a planet thing. 1 red 1 yellow - That'd make for one helluva squirrelly SUPERMAN - only super when Red eclipsed

You know what he's talking about, right? The planet Tatooine. The real one. The one they just announced. This one. It's technically called Kepler-16b, but the scientific community seems to have agreed that's it simply more fun to call it Tatooine, since it's the first two-sun planet they've ever found.

Leave it to Harry to take something that incredibly geektastic in the first place and then ladle on the syrup

Albert Ching wrote:George Pérez is off as writer and breakdown artist of Superman, Newsarama has learned.

The new creative team as of Superman #7 will be writer Keith Giffen and Dan Jurgens on layouts and/or pencils. Pérez may remain on the title as finisher/inker.

Pérez, a comic book industry veteran, had been doing Superman double-duty, both writing the book and handling breakdowns and covers. Jesus Merino provided finished art. Superman #1 debuted in comic shops this week.

This is the second of DC's The New 52 titles that Giffen has taken over as writer. Last week, he was announced as replacing J.T. Krul on Green Arrow as of December's #4, a book which also includes Pérez and Jurgens on the creative team. This is the third DC New 52 creative team change as of this point — earlier this month, John Rozum stepped down as co-writer of Static Shock.

Andrew Goldfarb wrote:Paul Dini has big ideas for the future of superhero games.

Dini, who has a long history of writing comics and animated series based on DC characters, wrote both Batman: Arkham Asylum and the upcoming Batman: Arkham City. Speaking to Yahoo Games (via Comic Book Movie), he explained what kind of superhero games he'd like to work on next.

"Batman is pretty much real world-centric," Dini said. "If I was going to do another comic book based game… I would probably want to amp it up a bit as far as the power level goes and do more of a superhero with more superpowers. Batman is pretty much a self-trained guy, I think it would be fun to do a character like Superman or Captain Marvel or maybe Green Lantern, somebody who's got a completely different resource for fighting crime and fighting villains."

Running with the idea of Superman, Dini described what he'd like to achieve in a game about the Man of Steel.

"[Superman] is pretty much the number one in the DC pantheon, and I think not enough has been done with him to make him a character," he said. "He's got amazing powers, he can fly super fast and everything, but also there's a level to his character that I don't think has been explored yet in video games to kind of get underneath who he is and into his heart a little bit."

Dini acknowledged that Superman films and comics have evolved, and that video games based on the character should be doing the same.

"I think there's a lot of reinvention being done on Superman at the moment, both in the comics and in the movies," he said. "I think it would be fun to revisit that character and kind of see what makes him tick."

Mark Seifert wrote: Keith Giffen and Dan Jurgens are joining forces to take on SUPERMAN for DC COMICS-THE NEW 52. Jurgens will be writing the ongoing, modern-day adventures of the Man of Tomorrow, with Giffen illustrating.

“In my mind, Superman is still the first and best,” said Jurgens. “He is the premier character in comics. As a writer, the thing I like best about Superman is the incredibly wide parameter of stories that suit him. Whether it’s a cosmic enemy that threatens the entire planet or a next door neighbor who’s confronted with an incredible moral dilemma, Superman is at home with both and everything in between. As an artist, the thing I like is the sense of power and integrity Superman embodies. There’s something about drawing that majestic figure in flight with the cape and classic ‘S’ shield that will always be a kick. Working with Keith Giffen, one of the most creative guys in comics, who comes up with more ideas in five minutes than most guys do in a week, is the topper. I can’t wait to get started.”

“Are you kidding? It’s SUPERMAN! The sky is the limit!” said Giffen. “I don’t care what anyone says, Superman is DC’s flagship title and Dan and I are going to sweat blood to make sure that everyone out there knows why. The sense of wonder that defined the character for so long is, most definitely, coming back. Big time.”

No strangers to DC COMICS-THE NEW 52, the duo joins SUPERMAN fresh from a three-issue run on GREEN ARROW.

Alex Nagorski wrote:This May, the Eisner Award-winning creative team of the NEW YORK TIMES bestselling TINY TITANS, Art Baltazar and Franco, will continue bringing their wonderful and unique humor to DC Comics with the new ongoing monthly series, SUPERMAN FAMILY ADVENTURES. The series will be starring (you guessed it!) the whole Superman gang – Superman, Supergirl, Superboy, Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, Lex Luthor, Bizarro, General Zod and … Fuzzy the Krypto Mouse!

But wait, there’s more! Before SUPERMAN FAMILY ADVENTURES hits stores, you’ll be able to get a sneak peak at the series in the DC Nation 2012 Free Comic Book Day Super Sampler!

“I have been sitting on the edge of my seat, biting my tongue about SUPERMAN FAMILY ADVENTURES since Thursday, July 21st at approximately 4pm, when Art & Franco came to see me at SDCC and showed me the proposal for this series,” said series editor Kristy Quinn. “Whew. Now, at least, you’re all stuck waiting with me—I was getting lonely sitting at my desk with all this cool stuff I couldn’t share!”

Kevin Melrose wrote:Renowned creator George Perez, who stepped down as writer and breakdown artist of DC Comics’ relaunched Superman after just six issues, revealed he couldn’t wait to leave the high-profile title because of frustrations over repeated rewrites and a lack of creative freedom. “It was not the experience I wanted it to be,” he said.

“Unfortunately when you are writing major characters, you sometimes have to make a lot of compromises, and I was made certain promises,” Perez said in a recently released Q&A video from this year’s Superman Celebration, “and unfortunately not through any fault of Dan DiDio — he was no longer the last word, I mean a lot of people were now making decisions [..] they were constantly going against each other, contradicting, again in mid-story. The people who love my Superman arc, the first six issues, I thank you. What you read, I don’t know. Because the fact that, after I wrote it I was having such frustration that I told them, ‘Here, this is my script. If you change it, that’s your prerogative, don’t tell me. Don’t ask me to edit it, don’t ask me to correct it, because I don’t want to change something that you’re going to change again in case you disagree.” No no, Superman is a big character. I was flattered by the responsibility, but I thought this was getting a little tough.”

“I didn’t mind the changes in Superman, I just wish it was the same decision Issue 1 or Issue 2,” he continued. “And I had to kept rewriting things because another person changed their mind, and that was a lot tougher. It wasn’t the same as doing Wonder Woman. I was basically given a full year to get Wonder Woman established before she actually had to be enfolded into the DC Universe properly. And I had a wonderful editor Karen Berger who ran shotgun for me. They wanted me to recreate what I did from Wonder Woman, but it’s not the same age, not the same atmosphere, I couldn’t do it any more. And the writer who replaced me, Keith Giffen, was very, very nice. I’ve known Keith since we both started in the industry, he called me up when they asked him to do Superman to make sure I wasn’t being fired off Superman. And regrettably I did have to tell him no, I can’t wait to get off Superman. It was not the experience I wanted it to be.”

Perez also divulged that he hadn’t been told that Grant Morrison would be relaunching Action Comics as part of the New 52, or that the title would be set five years before the events of Superman.

“I had no idea Grant Morrison was going to be working on another Superman title,” he said. “I had no idea I was doing it five years ahead, which means … my story, I couldn’t do certain things without knowing what he did, and Grant wasn’t telling everybody. So I was kind of stuck. ‘Oh, my gosh, are the Kents alive? What’s his relationship with all of these characters? Who exists?’ And DC couldn’t give me answers. I said, ‘Oh, my gosh, you’re deciding all these things and you mean even you don’t know what’s going on in your own books?’ So I became very frustrated …”

WaylonJones wrote:According to him Zack Snyder, Christopher Nolan and the producers of Man Of Steel are having a say in what is going on in Superman comics. "They have to deal with people producing the movie, who also had a say in what’s going on in the comic as well. My one fear, I’m not producing a comic, I’m producing a storyboard for a movie, that’s not what I wanted to do," he said. He also went on to say that the powers that be at DC would change their minds constantly which made it extremely difficult to meet deadlines.

Looking at the end product of most of the New 52 books, this seems pretty accurate. Look at the numerous creator shifts and the numerous stories from creators about editorial interference in the New52. And here I was hoping for a creative revolution.

There’s a lot of misinformed stuff out there judging by the mails and tweets I’ve had these last two days do let me clarify a bit.

Ultron whatever it’s called is long since finished, last year really. I WAS offered a potential Supes/Bats book but Brad didn’t have time.

So Supes-Bars never got beyond a ‘wouldn’t it be nice if?’ stage. Later Jim and Dan suggested Man of Steel with Scott Snyder which would have been great as we adore each other but I’m committed to other projects so that didn’t happen.

I have several projects on the go, all creator owned and that’s where I’ll be for the foreseeable future.

The new stuff is pretty cool though and you’ll hear about it when the year turns.

Vaneta Rogers wrote:The writer who made Batman the best-selling title at DC is getting his hands on another of the company's most iconic characters in 2013.

DC announced Thursday at New York Comic Con (click here for our Superman panel report) that acclaimed Batman writer Scott Snyder will be launching a new Superman ongoing title, working with superstar artist and DC Co-Publisher Jim Lee.

Although a title and date for the new Superman title has not been set, Snyder told Newsarama that he'll also write a co-feature for the comic, tying it into the main feature like he does in Batman. The artist of the back-up stories has not been announced.

Snyder said the new Superman series, which takes place in current New 52 continuity, will feature the usual Superman supporting cast — Lois, Jimmy, Lex, Lana and Perry — and will also have an appearance by Bruce Wayne. While he will be utilizing known DC villains in the story, he also indicated there will be new characters introduced.

For fans, the pairing should carry a lot of potential, not only because it's a superstar artist and one of the most lauded young comic writers in the business, but also because Snyder works months ahead of deadline on his scripts and Lee is a detailed artist who work best with some lead time.

Just this week, Snyder won rave reviews for Batman #13, the first issue in his "Death of the Family" event that sees the return of Joker. Lee, who just finished up a run on the Justice League title he helped launch last year, said in a statement on DC's blog that he's a "huge fan of Scott's writing."

The title will be a third Superman ongoing comic for DC, and it could launch around the time that Warner Bros. releases its Man of Steel movie. However, Snyder said the comic's story isn't tied to the film.

The writer wouldn't say how long he's sticking around on the new Superman series, although he left the possibility open. Snyder also emphasized that he'll continue writing Batman and his Vertigo comic American Vampire while he's working on this new Superman project.

Newsarama talked to Snyder to find out more.

Newsarama: Scott, there have been a lot of Superman stories over the years — there are even currently other Superman comics. How is your Superman story different?

Scott Snyder: This comic came about because I approached Dan DiDio about doing a Superman story at some point down the line because of an idea I had that's really similar to the kind of idea I had when I was thinking about doing Batman "Court of Owls." Not in story. It's not a similar story at all. But in the way I approached these characters, because they're so iconic, and they mean so much to my son and to me growing up. And they're sort of overwhelming. To try to imagine that you only get a chance to write them once, and you're just writing the absolute only story you'd ever get to do, and writing it for yourself, you know? No matter what anyone thinks. This is your exploration of this character, or some aspect of the character that's most exciting in this particular moment.

So it's a full, huge exploration, both bombastic and gigantic, where you get to use the most earth-shattering sequences possible, but also the most intimate, that explore the character in a deep way.

That's what I tried to do with the "Court of Owls" story and now the Joker. But that's what this Superman story is, for me.

It's my big exploration of what I love the most about Superman as a character. It's going to pit him against challenges that are really going to shake up the character and Metropolis.

And I couldn't be more honored and thrilled working with Jim. It's just a dream come true. And the stuff he's turning in on it, his designs, are just incredible.

So it's going to be a big, bombastic, but also intimate Superman story. It's going to be at once self-standing and one big take on him, and will begin this ongoing series.

Nrama: You said that it will explore what you love most about the character. What do you love most about Superman? What is it you love about the character that you hope to bring out in this story?

Snyder: What I love the most about him, honestly, and the thing that fascinates me most is the particular calibration of his heroism. The thing that's fascinating to me about him as a hero, that makes him different, is that part of his heroism is about restraint. He has the power to shape the world however he would want to shape the world, and people want him to do that all the time. And yet at the same time there's something both tragic and incredibly heroic above anything, to resist that urge, to do what you think is best in terms of making the world what you think it should be.

He's the one superhero that stands above all the superheroes in his skill set, and yet I think he's also one of the most isolated, because of the responsibility on his shoulders to resist doing things half the time. It's crushing. Not only to do things to save the world, but to resist doing other things.

So that he exists at the crossroads of those elements is what makes him so noble and fascinating, and also often flawed.

Nrama: I know you said it's different from "Court of Owls," although you compared the way you created the two stories. You created a whole new villainous threat for that story. Will we see a similar type of villain in this? Or are you getting to delve into some known Superman villains?

Snyder: You'll known Superman villains. I really want it to be, like I said, if I only got to write this character once, it's everything I'd love to use. So you'll see Lex and Lana and Lois and Bruce Wayne. You'll see him as well. And Jimmy and Perry. And all that stuff.

And I'm writing the features and I'm writing the back-ups as well. It's a full, giant story in that way.

But in terms of the villain, I don't want to give anything away. It's a big element of the story.

But part of the fun I had on "Court of Owls" was trying to create a villain that was new, but also didn't feel out of place with the classic mythos. So I'm trying to follow a similar idea here.

Nrama: DC is calling this an ongoing, so is this something that you'll be sticking with for awhile?

Snyder: You know, I don't want to get ahead of myself. I have this giant story to tell that is really, really big. It's this big, epic-in-scope Superman story. So it's the same way I approached "Court of Owls." When I was writing it, I said to myself, I think this is it. I think I have one big Batman story. And then maybe they'll either kick me off afterward, but I'll never get a chance to write him. Or maybe I'll get to the end and not know. It's just the way I perceive it, in general.

I know a lot of other guys who I love, and I love their writing, have completely the opposite process, where they plan out two or three years as a cumulative rolling story. But my way is to plan to do one big story at a time that explores what I'm most fascinated about that character at that moment. And hopefully, it's relevant to what's happening in continuity at the same time. But it's deeply personal to me. And I don't want to speculate if I'll have another one after that, or whether I have two or three after this one.

I just want to focus on this one right now. It's something we're both, me and Jim, we're really excited about and incredibly proud of. We want you to read it and feel like you're getting something special.

Nrama: Do you know how many issues this story is that you're planning?

Snyder: I have an idea, but I'd rather not say right now. I'm on it for awhile.

Nrama: Are you going to have to leave Batman to write this?

Snyder: Oh, no way. No way. No. I like to think that I'm setting up dual citizenship in Metropolis and Gotham. There's absolutely no way I will give up one for the other. I'll commute from Gotham to Metropolis. And that commute it pleasant.

But at the same time, anything I'm doing on Batman, I would never, ever for a second allow that to suffer to do Superman. A lot of the planning and the staggering of things and the kind of movement behind the scenes of how to make time for each thing has been done specifically to allow me personally to make both books something I can focus on and give my absolute 100 percent to.

And the stuff coming up in Batman, after Joker, there's going to be another epic, big story like the one we're doing about Joker. So we're not slowing down on Batman at all. It's only ramping up.

Nrama: As you approach the story, the fact that you're working with Jim has got to guide some of what you're writing, doesn't it? How does it influence what you're writing?

Snyder: It's hugely influential, although Jim was one of the people, when I was imagining the story before I even knew if there was a possibility of working with him, who I imagined as the type of artist who would be perfect for this story.

Because it is big, earth-shaking action. And it is also larger-than-life storytelling. But there are also these intimate moments between Superman and other superheroes and characters that I know Jim is so good at.

So it definitely influences me in the way that I'm inspired by Greg [Capullo]. I don't try to change the story to play to their strength in any way, but I do try to emphasize the elements of the story that they're going to have the most fun with and also do the best storytelling with. So for Jim, it's really about creating these really important character moments alongside the big action, because he's so good at those.

I'm excited about it. It's going to have a lot of things that, hopefully, you'll recognize as particular to my interest. Like there's a lot of American history in it. And it has Superman facing things that he's frightened of about himself. So it's a Scott Snyder story, but I'm hoping that people will read it and also say this is something that feels like classic Superman.

Michael Doran wrote:The jockeying for comic book news supremacy during New York Comic Con has started a day early.

DC Comics just officially announced that writer Andy Diggle and artist Tony Daniel are the new post-Grant Morrison creative team on Action Comics, beginning with March’s issue #18.

And judging by this Daniel promo art, you may have noticed Superman might also get a new suit, although DC isn’t talking about that yet.

“I’ve always had a positive experience working with DC Comics, and it’s amazing to be welcomed back into the fold in such fine style,” Diggle told DC’s official blog The Source. “Even in an industry dominated by superheroes, Superman is THE superhero – the original and best - and I’m flattered, daunted and inspired in equal measure at being given the opportunity to build on such an incredible and historic legacy.

“The word ‘iconic’ is bandied around a lot in comics, but Superman defines the term. I’m excited to be working with Tony Daniel, whose artistic and storytelling skills will be bringing the world(s) of Superman to stunning visual life. Together we’ll be carving out spectacular new adventures that respect the past while redefining the future of the Man of Steel.”

“I look forward to drawing each and every character in Superman's universe,” added Daniel. “I anticipate this being a fun ride for me and hopefully for Superman fans as well. I can't wait to get Andy's first script and sharpening my pencils.”

Look for more information on the new Action Comics team — and that suit — when it’s available.

Update: In an interview with CBR, Diggle doesn't address Superman's new duds, but does make clear that his run will take place simultaneously with the rest of the New 52, as opposed to Morrison's run which took place five years in the past.

Diggle also disclosed that Action Comics will tie-in more with the other Superman titles than it has in the recent past. "I think you're going to see the Super-books start to have a bit more shared continuity between them," he said. "He's going to figure out what his heritage means to him as the last son of Krypton. Not the last Kryptonian, because he's discovered Supergirl is there, too. But he'll be learning more about what that all means. That all opens up the scope of the kind of stories we can tell."

The writer also said he has plans for the Daily Planet, Perry White, Jimmy Olsen and Lois Lane, and is looking to explore the Superman/Clark Kent/Lois Lane dynamic with the added new element of Superman's relationship with Wonder Woman.

"Obviously, the relationship with Wonder Woman is going to complicate that whole dynamic," Diggle said. "That could all seem pretty predictable, but with the Wonder Woman wildcard there, it makes everything a little bit more interesting and dramatic."

Kiel Phegley wrote:Since it was announced that artist Ivan Reis would join DC Comics' "Justice League" series as regular artist in 2013, readers have wondered where superstar artist/DC Co-Publisher Jim Lee would land creatively. With the plans DC has in place for 2013, it should come as no surprise that the answer is Metropolis.

Today at New York Comic Con, word was released that Lee would be joined by best-selling "Batman" and "American Vampire" writer Scott Snyder for a new Superman monthly comic to debut next year. The series will be both an extension of the hero's place in their New 52 line of books and also a celebration of Superman's 75th anniversary as well as his incoming Warner Bros. feature "Man of Steel."

CBR News spoke with both Snyder and Lee about the whys and wherefores of the project, and below, the pair explain why this story will be a stand-alone tale that tests the core of who Superman is, what challenges they're setting themselves to make a stylistic break from Man of Steel stories of the past and who they view as the real Clark Kent.

CBR News: Jim, let's start with you. You're not only a DC artist but also the Co-Publisher. You've been working on "Justice League" since the launch of the New 52. What made this the project you wanted to move to as an artist, and what made this book the right business move to take DC into 2013?

Jim Lee: I would say with my Co-Publisher hat on looking into 2013, it's Superman's 75th anniversary. So we wanted to do a lot of great things with Superman in the coming year and expand the number of books we put out under his name. From an artist's point of view, I always want to work with the writers I admire. I've been following Scott's work on "American Vampire" where I actually did the variant for the first issue, and I followed him straight through to "Batman" where I loved the way he introduced new mythology and made it seem so seamless and like it'd been there forever. That's one of the hardest things to do with these characters who have been around for seven-plus decades: inject things that feel like they've always been there into the story. So selfishly speaking on a creative level, I wanted a chance to work with Scott and do it on a character like Superman where we could see what he could come up with to show us what this character is about even as we've known him for 75 years. Scott and I had a breakfast at San Diego Comic-Con, and he walked me through this story, and I was sold from that moment on.

Scott, people knew when you started at DC that you were a huge Batman fan and had a real passion for telling stories with that character. Do you have a similar relationship to Superman, or is your approach as a writer a bit different?

Scott Snyder: It's similar in the way that those two are the twin favorite characters for me ever since I was a little kid. There are moments when you want to be Superman, and then you get angry and have moments where you want to be Batman. [Laughs] That's both as a kid and as an adult! The way this came about for me was that I was working on "Batman" stuff, and a story started to develop in my head for Superman that I thought if I ever got a chance to write the character would be the thing I wanted to do with him. So I started mapping it out and figuring ways I could do it whenever I could. Then when I found out there might be a new Superman book, I got really excited to talk to Dan [DiDio] and Jim about this. It was something that I feel grew really organically for me from an excitement for and love of the character as well as an excitement for working with Jim. He's perfect for the story I have in mind. So that's the origin story of this.

Over the first year of the New 52, we had these twin Superman books that took place in the past where "Action" dealt with Clark Kent finding his place in the world and "Superman" developing this clash between his Kryptonian past and the modern day. We know Andy Diggle will be taking on "Action" and Scott Lobdell will be continuing the themes of "Superman." How will this new series fit into the line, and where will its story focus once it gets going?

Snyder: This will play along with the other Superman books in the sense that it's in continuity, but we really wanted to carve out our own territory. This really is sort of the biggest, most epic Superman story we could do together while having our feet planted firmly in continuity and making sure that everyone had enough room. For us, this is an independent book and something that will challenge Superman in a big way that's unique to our book. At the same time, I'm friends with Scott and with Andy too, so we're really excited to play alongside each other and share ideas.

Jim, how are you approaching this book visually? When you did your "Superman" run with Brian Azzarello, it had a very 1940s design sense to things while the New 52 "Justice League" was the debut of this almost futuristic armor for the Man of Steel. Is it different to develop him and his world free of having all those other heroes around on the page?

Lee: Absolutely. It's a lot harder to draw all those other characters. [Laughs] It's like, I finish drawing a really nice Superman and go, "Ugh... now I have to fit six other characters into the background!" This will be a nice change of pace from that, actually. I really look forward to concentrating on this particular character. As far as visual differences from the "For Tomorrow" storyline I did with Brian Azzarello and this one, Scott and I talked a lot when he laid out this story about visual beats we could do to make this different from other Superman titles and other runs that I've had. We started talking about narrative and story structure and the cadence of the sequential panels. Scott is a student of the craft, and we really hit it off creatively on that front. We batted the ball back and forth, and I think we came up with a short list of visual parameters for this project. We're really looking forward to making those come to life. We're working hard to make sure that when you read this story, it's going to look and feel very different from previous books. We've firmly established what this universe is going to look and feel like.

Overall, at this stage in the game how do each of your view Superman as a character? We hear a lot of talk about whether Clark Kent is the real lead character within his dual identity or whether Superman is. Do you have a feel for what your take will be like?

Snyder: I think one of the interesting things about him is that Clark is always Clark. I think sometimes people like Batman you see that Bruce Wayne is the mask he wears. But for Superman, the thing that makes him such a strong character is that the values he grew up with and the person he was raised to be are still at the core of what makes him the most powerful superhero on earth. This isn't going to be a story where it's Clark versus Superman or seeing the two of them split. It's more about challenges for Superman that rock him to the core emotionally, psychologically and also physically. It really is going to wind up putting him up against someone who can go blow-to-blow with him and really take him down.

Lee: Yeah, I'm more of the mind that you can have your cake and eat it to. It's not so much that he is Superman or Clark Kent. They're one and the same. One of the appealing things about Superman is that he is in touch with that aspect of his humanity. To me, I'm a parent, and I interact with my kids differently than when I go out with my friends. I don't feel as though one is different from the other. It's just who I am. When I think of Superman, I think of a guy who can relate to the everyman and be the Clark Kent that we know and love, but he's also this incredible hero that's inspirational and aspirational -- someone who can move mountains. To me, that's what makes this character interesting -- that both of these people reside in the same body.

Josie Campbell wrote:At Thursday’s New York Comic Con DC Comics -- The New 52 Superman panel, the writers and artists behind the Superman group of books came out to talk about what’s coming down the pipe for their comics, answer fan questions and announce a new Superman book in the works.

Morrison began by talking about “Action Comics” issue #15 showing an image of Super Doomsday fighting Superman on the side of the daily planet. Moving onto the “Action Annual,” writer Fisch and artist Cully Hamner told the audience the annual will have the first exposure of Superman to Kryptonite and the “new direction” for Steel, as well as Lex Luthor, Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen.

“It’s as classic as you can get,” Hamner said. Idelson added there would be a backup by “Chronicle” screenwriter Max Landis.

Moving onto “Superman,” Berganza spoke about the “H’el On Earth” storyline, saying, “Our cast doesn’t exactly get along like a big ‘ol Superman family, and you’ll see some big changes coming up.”

Moving onto the picture of the “Superboy Annual” Idelson said it will fill in more “blanks” in Superboy’s backstory. The audience gasped as DC showed images of Superboy in Superman’s suit alongside Batman, Idelson joking, “He’ll like Batman a lot more than Superman.”

Displaying an image for “Supergirl’s” covers where Kara shares the page with the Flash and a mysterious figure in the background, the audience laughed as a fan asked if it was Wally West, to which the panel said no. The audience then applauded as Diggle and Daniel were announced as the new “Action Comics” creative team. Diggle said that Superman’s strange new costume in his image for "Action" would be explained after the events of “H’el On Earth.”

“I’m just really excited to get started on it,” Daniel told the audience, joking that from “Batman” to “Action,” it was like going, “literally from night to day.”

“Weren’t you the one who hung joker’s face on the wall?” Wayne joked as the audience laughed.

Wayne then introduced the creative team behind a new Superman project, helmed by writer Scott Snyder and artist Jim Lee. Lee told the audience as 2013 is the anniversary of Superman they decided to add the new book to the Superman family.

“I didn’t hire myself, honestly!” Lee said as the audience laughed. He then said Snyder came to him with a Superman story in mind, and out of their discussion at San Diego Comic-Con came the new book.

“I was a big fan of Scott’s work when he did ‘American Vampire’...so it is an honor to work with this guy and he has a great story, which he can’t tell you about,” Lee added as the audience laughed again.

Snyder then promised the audience the “Biggest, most kick-ass story I can tell,” saying that he was writing the feature and the backups for the new, as yet untitled, book.

The panel then moved onto “Superman: Earth One,” volume two. Wayne held up a copy of the book as Berganza told the audience that it was the same creative team as the first volume and that things, “Wouldn’t be easy” for Superman, nor would his love interest in the book be Lois Lane.

“You’re also going to see Pa explain the birds and the bees to the Man Of Steel,” Berganza joked as he showed an image of Superman fighting Parasite.

“When is it going to be on sale, Bob?” Berganza asked.

“Soon!” Wayne said as the audience laughed once more.

Wayne then threw the floor open to questions, the first question coming from Berganza who wanted to know if Lee is approaching drawing Superman differently from his pre-New 52 runs.

“Scott and I discussed that...I think we’ll distinguish it from my early run with Brian Azzerello,” Lee said, citing his earlier work drawing "Superman: For Tomorrow."

The first audience member thanked the panelists for the high quality of the books before asking Morrison if the writer had achieved what he set out to do on “Action Comics” and if there were any misses or regrets.

“There were no misses!” Morrison said as the audience laughed.

“If I did it again I would do every issue as a one-off,” Morrison added, saying that he had a lot of fun but was ultimately glad he was coming to the end of his run.

Lee told a fan who was disappointed with Superman’s new costume that, “When we go forward, to keep these characters relevant and modern you have to be fearless and keep looking forward...I understand your connection, but trust me, in 75 years they’ll be pining away for this costume right now,” Lee said.

The next audience member asked Morrison what Superman was his favorite to write, which Morrison said “All-Star Superman” was his favorite.

“It was putting yourself in the place of someone who is that good...but I have had fun with the younger Superman," Morrison added.

A Superman fan who had never missed an issue from his first comic in 1960 asked about the New 52 relaunch conversations DC had about what they would keep and what they would scrap from Superman's continuity.

“We left it to the creative teams,” Lee said, adding that DC wanted to return Lois and Clark to their "pre-marital state," but other than that they let the writers and artists take the initiative.

Speaking about “Supergirl’s” role in “H’el On Earth,” Johnson said that Kara, “Desperately wants to cling to the life she had...but we’re also going to evolve her relationship with Superman, which has been up to this point mainly punching.”

To a fan who wanted to know about the evolution of Superman/Clark Kent over the years, Fisch said that to him the most important part of Superman is, “He gives everyone someone to look up to,” Fisch said, adding, “He’s a good guy, and that, to me, is the core of it...when you come down to it, he’s a hero.”

A fan then wanted to know if in the New 52 Universe Superman had died.

“Yes!” Morrison said as the audience laughed, adding that he felt that entire period still happened and he wrote with that in mind.

A Christopher Reeve fan wanted to know what would inform Diggle’s take on Superman.

“For me, Christopher Reeve was my Superman, just the way he embodied his sense of decency,” Diggle said, continuing, “[Superman] will do absolutely everything he can, and that’s absolutely inspirational. You don’t have to move planets to be inspirational, you just need to do what you can.”

Snyder chimed in that he was inspired by Morrison’s take on how Superman was perceived by the regular humans of planet Earth.

“For me what makes him so heroic is his restraint,” Snyder said, adding that Superman could usurp human authority, but he does not.

The next audience member asked Morrison and Snyder what works influenced them. “I read Grant,” Snyder said as Morrison laughed. Snyder also praised Morrison for listening to his ideas on “Batman” every time the two had met.

“You just try to find your way into the character,” Morrison added. “Scott does that, he goes in there and...I love his takes on characters.”

The audience laughed as the panelists told a fan who wanted to know if H’el would be a reoccurring bad guy or a one-off force like Doomsday, “Yes.”

The next fan wanted to know if there would be a Mr. Majestic versus Superman fight. “The future looks hazy,” Lee said as the audience cracked up.

“Clark plays a really big role,” Snyder said of his new project to the next audience member, continuing, “The story we’re doing is going to cause conflict emotionally...what [the story’s villain] stands for and what he means and what he represents is going to threaten Clark to his core.”

A fan then wanted to know if with the decline of newspapers and the rise of news blogs, Twitter and other sources, it affected how the writers wrote the journalist Clark Kent side.

“I think things like the advent of the internet...has created a huge upheaval in news journalism...I’m looking forward to tackling that aspect,” Diggle said.

“Our story is about Superman in the modern world,” Snyder added, saying he and Lee will be tackling that idea as well.

The last question came from an English teacher who said that he had a female student who loved Superman because of the part in “All-Star Superman” where Superman saves a girl from committing suicide. The audience applauded and the teacher then asked what Superman run will influence Snyder’s project.

“Some of the stuff you’ll see in the DNA of our story is...’What’s so Funny About Truth, Justice, And The American Way,’ and Grant’s fingerprints are all over it,” Snyder said.

“It really is, if I ever got one chance to write Superman, this would be it,” Snyder added as Wayne closed the panel to thunderous applause.